Tower Over Washington Square Park Planned By Developer: Report

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — Developers want to build a 370-foot tower a block away from Washington Square Park, according to plans for the new building shared with the real estate blog YIMBY.

Architects have designed a massive tower that would stretch nearly 370-feet high to replace the four-floor building currently at 14 Fifth Avenue, according to YIMBY. The building was first built in 1910 and is a part of the Greenwich Village Historic District, meaning any major construction is subject to approval by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.

A tipster released the plans to YIMBY, which reported that Robert A. M. Stern Architects had created the designs. The plans have yet to be filed with the city's Department of Buildings, and Robert A.M. Stern Architects did not immediately respond to an email from Patch to confirm the plans or provide more information.

According to YIMBY, the project would bring 36 new condominiums to the Village.

The initial news of the tower sparked quick criticism from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the local group that has long worked to oppose new development in the city's historic districts.

“Any developer that would think that a tower of this grossly out-of-context scale would ever muster approval in the Greenwich Village Historic District is sadly deluded," Andrew Berman, the society's executive director, said in a statement. "Plans have not even yet been filed for this project; any development in the Greenwich Village Historic District would have to go through a long and in depth public hearing and review process, where the local community would have ample opportunity to make its feelings and opinions about the proposed design known. If this developer thinks that this proposal would receive anything less than vociferous opposition from the public and affected community, he’s in for a rude awakening."

Image credit: Ciara McCarthy / Patch